MS patients 'can suffer relapses' over benefits tests, study suggests. ITV News website reports

Everyday living
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MS patients ‘can suffer relapses’ over benefits tests, study suggests. ITV News website reports today.

Multiple Sclerosis sufferers who claim disability benefits are finding that controversial assessments are causing their condition to deteriorate or relapse, according to a charity survey.

The MS Society reports that nearly half (48%) of those questioned who had undergone an assessment for Employment Support Allowance (ESA) felt it had harmed their health, with more than a third reporting similar outcomes with the new Personal Independence Payment (PIP) system.

The charity says current assessments fail to take into account the fluctuating and hidden symptoms of MS and the impact it can have on the health of sufferers.

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This was reported in the Guardian today too.

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I can quite believe it Whammel, the public aren’t always aware of how difficult it has become for genuinely disabled people. Even my friend who has been a Lib Dem councillor and has a progressive Neurological condition, doesn’t seem to understand and she’s a pensioner and her condition has deteriorated badly, so I suppose I can forgive her.

I heard on the Last Leg tele programme that some students studying law had taken up the cases of (sorry can’t remember how many) disabled people appealing ESA and something like 95% of people went on to win their claims, there’s something wrong with the system.

Wendy x

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